The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board offered a strong condemnation of the Phillies’ decision to allow Brett Myers to take the mound on Saturday, just a day after being arrested for hitting his wife. The Phillies should understand that some things are more important than baseball – and they should have given Myers a week or two of leave from the team to settle down and tend to personal matters.
I’m a former partial season ticket holder. My dad and my in-laws all have partial season ticket plans for the Phillies. When we were dating, my wife and I were more likely to go to a Phillies game than to a fancy restaurant. I love baseball, and I love my Phillies.
But as much as I grew up with baseball (some of my best memories of my teen years are of attending baseball games with my father), I also grew up with domestic violence (*even though my name is not on this blog, it used to be – and some of you know me, my family, etc. etc.. Let me say this – my folks divorced when I was very young, and the violence was perpetuated by a man other than my father). I have seen the bruises and scars and wounds of domestic violence – both physical and emotional – and I have zero tolerance for scumbags who abuse the women or children in their lives.
I heard an ESPN analyist say that the Brett Myers situation "was a shame." What a crock of shit. This situation is an abusive, immoral crime carried out by a highly paid, professional athlete who is stronger and more aggressive than your average human being. The Phillies should recognize this and give Brett Myers some time away from the team to reflect on his behavior, his relationships, and his life.
Some things are more important than baseball. But when it comes to the more important things in life, the Phillies just don’t get it. And judging by their current losing streak, it seems they don’t get the baseball part, either.
Shame on them.
The Lutheran Zephyr 
I certainly share your sentiments, but where would you draw the line with waiting to know the whole story or innocent until proven guilty?
Do you think there could be a special category of “leave” in this type of situation that gets around the legal issues?
All of these player contracts have a “conduct” clause that allows a team to fine, punish or release a player due to conduct detrimental to the team. It would be well within the team’s rights to bench Myers for a week or two due to his conduct – and the lousy players union wouldn’t have a moral leg to stand on to challenge the team’s decision. I’m not saying they should release Myers, but they should send a signal that this behavior is not going to be tolerated by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Well said. Another reason why I adore my beloved Green Bay Packers is their policy on things like this – when Mark Chmura had a hot tub party for his kids’ baby-sitters after their prom, they ditched him pretty fast. I certainly understand that that’s different from domestic violence, but I was proud of my Packers for keeping the team on the up and up.
To respond to the previous poster, although a person might be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, that doesn’t mean their employer is obligated to keep them until they’re proven not guilty. I’m sure he’s under contract, but this would constitute just cause to fire him (or give him a leave) in my book. Employers don’t have to be as forgiving as the criminal courts do. And when they have a public image to protect, they’d do well to send a zero tolerance message… as unfair as that may be to Mr. Myers, it’s life. He might well have a defense in court, but he doesn’t have a right to his job.
You beat me to it, LZ… as an almost-lawyer, I just had to speak up. 🙂
Some of the Vikings had a party on a dinner cruise boat that got out of hand, raunchy, I guess. The employees were subjected to seeing things they didn’t want to and other conduct they objected to. Some of the Vikings had to go to court. I don’t recall how the team dealt with it, but it was considered bad PR in the community, which was detrimental to the new team owner.
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities going on 8 years now and I have never been impressed by the way the Vikings handled anything. There have been various criminal charges up the wall, to say nothing of the wrongful death suit brought by the widow of a player (Korey Stringer, was it?) who died of heatstroke during practice. They would definitely have done well to let some people go instead of standing by their top boys for the sake of $$$. And yet, it’s my belief that it is not cost-effective to do so – the loss of PR and goodwill can be quite financially destructive.
Yet another reason why I am a Packer fan. 😉